Where do betas go? Options

[flowerthief]

Where does one post a game in beta? It doesn't seem to go in Games Under Construction whose description says "early stage of development", a beta being a late stage of development. It doesn't seem to go in Long Demos whose description says "it's out of the beta stage". It doesn't seem to go in Completed Games either because it's not quite complete.

[Rob_Riv]

It doesn't just say "early stage of development", it says "This forum is for projects in an early development stage right up to having a beta demo available".

[Ty]

Looks like it should go into 'Games Under Construction', since it covers beta downloads in the category description. However I believe it would also work well in the Long Demo area, provided the game is not feature-complete. The 'Completed Games' section should be reserved for tested, feature-complete full builds.

But I guess it depends on how you as an individual define beta. Is the game feature-complete (Ie. The game is done, but in a mostly untested state? or is the game still in active development, not feature complete, and for the most part untested?

Edit: Damn Rob posts too fast, or I type to slow.

[flowerthief]

> "This forum is for projects in an early development stage right up to having a beta demo available".

That's what threw me off, because beta is not at all what I would call an early development stage. (Also "beta demo" is a little confusing) It is feature-complete, which I think is a later stage of development than most projects for which demos are being released, but I can put it in Games Under Construction if that's where it belongs.

[amerk]

I guess the trick is to consider what constitutes a beta. For that matter, to me any game in the "Long Demo" section is a sort of beta, whether it says so or not, because the game is not complete and could undergo several changes based upon the feedback.

So my thoughts are, if the beta is open to the public, put it under Long Demo. If the beta is only open to select individuals, keep it under Games Under Construction.